Award provides a 'peer group benchmark' for the fund

What the judges said: “Clearly structured and informative website which also answers most FAQs.” One of the key benefits of winning an IPE Award for the Zurich-based Beamtenversicherungskasse, the Civil Servants Insurance Fund (CSIF), is the international and domestic exposure it brings. “In Switzerland the employer decides whether an independent employer-based foundation or a collective foundation is used for the employees’ pensions provision,” says the BVK’s Rolf Huber. “The CSIF, being part of the employer-based foundation market, is not directly exposed to competition, as employee participation is mandatory. This means we lack a peer-group benchmark and are unable to rate ourselves against other funds. Winning the IPE Award will substantially help in bridging that gap and make comparisons with other funds a real possibility,” he adds. Moreover, Huber says BVK will use the award as a marketing and communications tool both externally and internally as the Swiss pension fund industry continues to evolve, especially in light of the impact the downturn in the markets has had on Swiss funds. “There is a lot of discussion in Switzerland right now concerning the credibility and effectiveness of the collective foundations that the employer-based equivalents would be foolish to ignore. We will use the fact we have won this prestigious award as an independent and external acknowledgement – over which we had no influence – that we are more than adequately organised and structured to withstand similar pressure,” he comments. However, Huber points out that the greatest benefit of all could be the effect the award has internally. “Most of the pension fund operates internally, including all administration, IT platforms and communications. “Winning the award has had an immeasurable effect on motivation. We are honoured and proud to see that the effort we all make here is being acknowledged in this way and ultimately it will bring added value for our clients and business associates,” he comments.